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Hey, Is This Sexist?
Edit this map to leave a question for our resident expert. Q: Anonymous asked: Is it sexist to have a specific sexual orientation? A: ..... Q: Anonymous asked: Is it sexist that the Academy Awards give awards to 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actress'? Am I justified in thinking that gender doesn't put you in a different acting category? A: ..... Q: Anonymous asked: Is "The Iron Lady", starring Meryl Streep, sexist? I thought it was pretty good. A: ..... Hey, But Really, What About Cosmo? Anon says: Hey, I’m sure the question about cosmo was not “is cosmo a piece of garbage” but rather, is cosmo sexist. I say: Hey, I am shocked that this needs clarification. Yes, Cosmo is fucking sexist. If we recognize that sexism is about the assumption that any number of characteristics, ideas, abilities, talents, whatever, can be determined by ones gender, and that individuals should be treated differently based on these inherit differences, then Cosmo just flew off the radar in this Sexist Shitstorm. Titles like “What Kind of Woman are You?”, “What He’s Really Thinking”, “How to Please Your Man” are all based on these ridiculous and impossibly large generalizations of gender, sex, and sexuality. But the most sexist and rage-inducing part of Cosmo is that it constantly defines female sexuality in terms of male satisfaction. One can find endless articles on how to GIVE.THE.BEST.HEAD.EVER; what hair styles guys prefer for girls; about how to get the attention of any guy you want; on how to deal with all those otha bitchy ladiez; and most importantly, on THOSE 7 THINGS YOU CAN DO THAT NO GIRL HE’S EVER SLEPT WITH HAS EVER DONE FOR HIM BEFORE SO YOU CAN BE THE BEST GIRL AT SEX AND HE’LL NEVER EVER FORGET YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE THE HOTTEST AND THE BEST AT SEX. What one cannot find in Cosmo, however, is any inkling of real, progressive, inclusive, explorative, healthy, discussion about sex. It is fauxgress. And, as I so neatly said previously, IT IS MADE OF GARBAGE. There are, however, a few things about Cosmo that I find amazing: 1. That they manage to release the same magazine every month and still make money. 2. Not only do they perpetuate and recycle old gender stereotypes, but they also create entirely new ideas about how to demean women and men. To review some of these awesome BAD FUCKING IDEAS by Cosmo, both old and new, click here. And here. And here. Anonymous asked: Is it sexist to assume that Santa is a man? Hey, there is nothing sexist about that. Mostly because it’s not an assumption. We know Santa is a male because not only is he fat, but he’s glorified and respected (people don’t commonly glorify and respect fat women). Also Santa is based on a historical figure, who was in fact, a male. Had you asked that question about the Easter Bunny, we would have had one hell of a debate on our hands. Anonymous asked: Is it sexist to call a women a broad? Hey, absolutely not. Just kidding. It’s totally sexist. There are many possible origins of this word. I’ve heard a wide range a very narrow list of meanings, from ‘piece of meat with a hole in it’, to ‘flat, open, extended…no clear distinction from wide’. Either way, it totally fucking sucks. Broad falls into the same category of words, along with bitch, skank, slut, etc., that some women have attempted to re-appropriate. Though I personally have no interest in re-appropriating words that never belonged to me to begin with, I understand the desire to. In such light, these words should only be used in a positive context and with the confirmation of a common understanding between parties. However, based on your question alone, I fear that my explanation may leave you with some confusion. For the record, yes it is absolutely always sexist to refer to a unknown woman in any public space, where there is no understanding of common intention or positive context, as a broad. jeffury asked: Are King and Queen mattresses sexist? Hey, excellent question Jeffury. It brings up a favourite topic of how/why things are named. Nothing exists in a vacuum and objects and the words we assign them carry meaning. While the mattress example may or may not be sexist, many other categories bearing gendered names are. In most cases, the female category is only a lesser/smaller/cheaper version of the male category (like those Mama burgers…pfft, like us ladies aren’t hungry too). In terms of mattresses, I don’t have the stats on the monarchs in question, but this name differentiation is likely a product of sexual dimorphism. While it may not be sexist per se, it does aid in obscuring the important fact that human beings, as a whole, exist on a giant continuum of size, behaviour, appearance, asshole-ery, psychology, athletic ability, strength, talent, and everything else ever. It does no one any good to argue differently. Anonymous asked: This girl in my class is relentlessly bitchy. Is it sexist to say that she is constantly PMSing? Hey, everything about this is sexist. If you are concerned about her attitude, I recommend saying something more in line with: “hey, I’m not cool with how you treat people”, or “hey, your demeanour in this classroom is not conducive to discussion”. Both referring to her attitude as ‘bitchy’ and associating this attitude with pms is historically a way in which women’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas are undermined and altogether dismissed. Side note: It may be worth for you to consider the possibility that her attitude has less to do with pms and more to do with the fact you just may be a bit of an asshole…just maybe. Anonymous asked: hey it's your brother, just messaging you to say tumblr is lame but i hope yours fluorishes Hey, for the record, this is not sexist. Though maybe it hints at nepotism. softrockstars asked: Hola chica! I'd like you to impart your knowledge on a topic that is tearing my feminist heart apart, please. Two words: Courtney Stodden. …ughhh…alright, I’ll play. Hey, so to answer the question directly, Is Courtney Stodden sexist?, who the shit knows. I read an article once that said she went one day without makeup, so maybe there’s a feminist to be made of her yet? (Also, I once saw a picture of her dressed as Rosie the Riveter). However, to discuss this topic more generally, yes sexism has definitely played a part in this giant clusterfuck. It is impossible to discuss this topic without first addressing the hilarity of it. The tweets! The singing! The boobs! The pumpkin patches! This girl (yes, girl) is the most extreme caricature of traditional female sexuality conceivable. Yet this hilarity quickly gives way to sorrow. It is impossible to deny the power dynamics present between a 51-year-old man (who I genuinely cannot remember ever seeing on Lost) and a 17-year-old girl. Especially when we consider the radically different Courtney that existed a slimy husband few years ago. Has he got her hopped up on ritalin? Strung out on meth? Is that why she’s like a bobble head who can’t stop licking her lips as she stumbles through interviews? Who knows. It is certainly difficult not to see her as a carefully crafted embodiment of Hutchison’s barf-able and painfully unimaginative sex fantasy. Yet I hesitate to fully get behind this idea, as she is after all, an autonomous woman capable of rational decision making. One could argue it would be sexist of me to not allow her that agency. And maybe at the end of the day, in all her free will, all she really wants is the liberty to pursue her desire to be desired by every super-hetero-testosterone-filled-manly-American-man ever. But then again…probably not. More importantly, why are we even talking about Courtney? Who the fuck is this Doug guy? (Really, I don’t think you were on Lost). The most sexist thing about this whole fuckstorm is the fact that Courtney is caught in the centre. ‘She’s a whore’, ‘Her boobs are fake’, ‘She’s a bimbo’, blah blah. Who cares? We should never fault a 17-year-old young adult woman for experimenting with sex and sexiness (though perhaps Justin Beiber or Taylor Lautner or even Emma Watson would have been better choices). Really, WHO IS DOUG HUTCHISON? Let’s put this condoned pedophile on the pedestal for awhile. Because really, if this was SVU, Stabler would have shot Hutchison’s dick off 42 minutes ago. post script: I was hesitant to provide links to the stories referenced here, as this situation does not need any more attention. However ignoring it is also an injustice, as there are clearly some very real problems here that deserve dialogue. But I also don’t wish to make a spectacle of this girl/woman…but also it’s an excellent example of…forget it. Google it, don’t google it, I don’t give a fuck. We’ll all just keep lolsob-ing together. Anonymous asked: Is the word women sexist? Hey, without investigating the etymology of the word, I would say… maybe…There’s a good foundation of literature to suggest yes, and it can be argued that the word implies that women are a subset of men. If you are worried about offending people, perhaps you could adopt the alternative spelling, womyn.